


Unequipped

by OhSoSheWrites



Series: Falling For the Skirt Chaser [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23699278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhSoSheWrites/pseuds/OhSoSheWrites
Summary: Byleth ponders her feelings for Sylvain and what to do about it, as well as the fact that this is all very new and unknown to her.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Falling For the Skirt Chaser [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1612996
Comments: 9
Kudos: 52





	Unequipped

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is getting away from me. My original part two is probably going to be part 5 now and instead this is our first look at Byleth’s mindset. This covers some of the material as the last part and then part of Sylvain’s paralogue. As I sit down to write, I just realize how much there is to explore and how I need to get these characters to a certain point and Byleth (by her very nature) is a bit of a challenge and I hope I did her justice.

It was incredibly out of line.

That is what Byleth kept telling herself in the days following her encounter with Sylvain in his room. She was the teacher and he was her student and she should not have let it escalate like that. 

Perhaps she should not have gone to his room at all.

_ “Why did you?”  _ Sothis asked, “ _ you could have checked on him during the daytime could you have not? Or sent an invitation for tea? But you went to his quarters.” _

Yes, she had. It had been an impulse decision, bringing him the tea and having a moment with him and she was not sure what she had been thinking, except that she had wanted to know Sylvain was ok.

She had certainly never intended for the situation to escalate and she had certainly not expected to feel so much... Weeks later, she could still remember the feel of his lips against her, remember what it had felt like to have his hard body on top of her, remember the thrill that had gone through her at his cocky promise to get her back into his bed.

Byleth knew she shouldn’t take it seriously. It was  _ Sylvain _ , after all. One of the first things she had been told about him was that he was a skirt-chaser and her months at Garreg Mach had given her plenty of opportunity to confirm that and yet... She couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

Which was why, after that night, she made a point of keeping her distance. She stopped inviting him for tea, though she still invited him to meals but only with the comfortable buffer of Ingrid or Felix. She needed the distance to remind them both of their positions. 

Though after a week or two, it became obvious to Byleth that she was the only one that needed that distance because even though she tried not to watch Sylvain, she couldn’t help it and it didn’t take long to notice that nothing had changed. He might have told her he would pursue her again, but it didn’t stop him from pursuing every other woman at the monastery first.

The realization made her feel foolish.  _ Of course _ it hadn’t meant anything to him, she was just the newest in a long line of women to fall into his arms and she kicked herself for being so torn up about it when it obviously meant nothing to Sylvain.

_ “That is good, is it not?”  _ Sothis enquired, “ _ your relationship can continue without awkwardness.” _

But it wasn’t that simple. If anything, Byleth felt  **more** awkward knowing that she had felt something that night, something she had never felt before, while for him it had been a meaningless encounter.

Which was why she knew it was personal, not professional, when she approached Sylvain after having the misfortune of watching his latest romance come to a messy end. Even so she didn’t know what she expected to come from the conversation, but it wasn’t for him to lease his bitter, cynical attitude towards him.

Or for him to turn it around on her.

“How do you care that none of them care?” Byleth asked, after listening to him rant about how women only want him for his crest, “or do you have such a low opinion of yourself that you don’t think anyone could want you for you?”

The look he gave her was so cold, she nearly braced herself for warmth. “ _ You _ didn’t.”

Wait... Was he referring to...

“That’s not...” she began, completely unsure how to handle this. Her training as a mercenary had not prepared her for this. “It wasn’t appropriate, Sylvain?”

His lips curved into a humourless smile. “So you  **did** want me?” He stepped closer, crowding her space, laying his hand on her waist. The warmth of it was a direct contrast to the coldness of his smile.

“That’s not... That’s not the point...” Byleth told him, fighting for control and trying to ignore the memories that his touch was awakening. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you and the way you treat people. And honestly, seeing the way your relationships end, how you talk about the women you go out with? No, I don’t want that. I don’t want to be a trophy, someone you bed to prove that you can.”

The words spilled out of their own volition. A month’s worth of confusion and self-admonishment finally getting a voice. She  **had** wanted Sylvain that night, had felt things she had never felt before but he had also shown her time and again he was not the man she wanted to take a risk with.

Sylvain laughed, a bitter sound that made her wince. “Didn’t you know that being a crest means being a trophy? That is how it’s always been for the rest of us, why should you be any different?”

Byleth had heard enough. She removed his hand from her waist. “I think we’re done here. I will see you in class tomorrow.” 

She then turned away from him, intending to head back to her dorm because she knew if they continued this conversation, nothing productive would be said and they needed to be able to retain some civility if she was going to continue to teach him. Besides, she was out of her depth here, this kind of emotional confrontation was new to her and it was overwhelming and she needed to get away, to gather her thoughts.

“By-professor, wait.” Sylvain called out after her.

It was his near use of her first name that had her stopping and turning back. “Why?” She asked coldly, “so you can insult me some more? Or share why you feel entitled to using all those poor girls? Because I think I have heard enough.”

“I am an ass,” he told her, running his hands through his head, “and I am sorry, I just... I shouldn’t have said any of that.” 

Byleth watched him carefully. “But did you mean it?”

“About the women who want my crest?” Sylvain asked, “yeah. I do. But about you? No, of course not.” The words came out quickly, too quickly.

“You were angry at me,” she said quietly, “because of my crest?”

She almost hoped that was the case, because that would be the easier answer. Not that she could change the past, but she had also learned enough about the crest system in the last months to know that Sylvain wasn’t alone in his anger at it.

“No, not because of that,” he told her so sincerely that she believed him, “I guess I’m not used to rejection, didn’t take it well... And I didn’t like that you were able to just move on and forget about it when I can’t stop thinking about it...”

Byleth took an unconscious step back, more affected by his words than she liked. So he had... “Sylvain...” She pulled herself together, remembering his actions of the last month. “If that’s true, it certainly hasn’t shown, every time I look, you’re wooing another woman.”

He stepped closer to her, so close that they were nearly touching and that she was well aware of the warmth of his body. “Do you care?”

Byleth was unsure how to answer. “About you? Of course.” It was the truth. He was her student, of course she cared. 

_ “Is that all it is?”  _ Sothis asked pointedly, but Byleth ignored her, this was messy enough without the commentary of a third party.

“What you do In your own time isn’t my business,” she continued, “except when it affects your work and I shouldn’t have interfered.”

Why had she? It wasn’t really her place. She never got complaints about Sylvain like she did with Lorenz and his personal life had never affected his work, he was one of her top students. 

_ “Yes, why then?”  _ Sothis was positively gleeful, Byleth had a feeling that she was enjoying this little scene far more than Byleth was.

Sylvain reached for her, pulling her tight against his body. “What if I  _ want _ you to care?”

Byleth knew that this was a bad idea. Besides everything else, they were in public, even if it was dark, anyone could come across them and she had no idea how she would explain herself. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to move away and when his lips covered hers, she only hesitated for a second before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. 

It was different than the last kiss, more intense, she could almost taste his need, his desperation and she was giving her own right back. It was so wrong and yet... It felt so good. She wanted to stay there forever, wrapped in his arms, his lips against hers, alone in a universe where it was just the two of them, but after a moment reason returned and she pulled away. 

“Sylvain...” She trailed off, “that wasn’t appropriate.”

“Since when do I do the appropriate thing?” He challenged, his posture locked in a defensive pose. “I told you, I’m a good for nothing.” He stepped back then and Byleth immediately missed his closeness. “But you know that, right? That’s why you won’t give me the time of day.”

“Sylvain...” Byleth wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but it didn’t matter because Sylvain didn’t give her a chance. 

“I should get going,” he said quickly, “we don’t want someone to come looking for one of us. After all, that would be awkward, wouldn’t it? Thanks for the chat, Professor, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And then he strode away before she could say another word. 

_ “Well that  _ **_was_ ** _ interesting.”  _ Sothis commented gleefully. “ _ It seems you have quite the situation brewing.” _

Yes, it did, and like many other things in her new life, Byleth felt completely unprepared as to how to handle it. Emotions, dealing with people, it was all new to her, and dealing with someone like Sylvain, who masked his real emotions so often and who awoke feelings in her that she didn’t entirely understand, was definitely behind her comprehension.

She let out a sigh and then headed to her room. There was nothing she could do tonight, tomorrow she would try and figure out how to approach this, because apparently ignoring the situation and hoping it would go away had not worked.

_ “You are just realizing this now?”  _

Byleth wondered if Sothis could see or feel her glare, the peel of laughter that came a moment later, making her things that she could and just did not care. Apparently,  _ someone _ was enjoying the situation, it just wasn’t Byleth. 

**

The next day, Byleth was surprised to find a cup of tea waiting on her desk when she got to her classroom. And even more surprised to see a note with it.  _ I’m sorry, -S.  _

Her eyes mer Sylvain’s across the room but before she could go to talk to him (and say what, she wasn’t sure), she was waylaid by Lysithea, who had a question about the lesson and then, it was time to teach and then after class Sylvain slipped out before she could catch him.

If Byleth had avoided Sylvain in the weeks after their first kiss, now he was avoiding her. Oh, not in an obvious way. He showed up to every lecture on time, was spending more time at the training ground than ever before (she heard Felix marvel about it on several occasions) and he was better than ever in the field.

In the field, he was right by her side, seeming able to anticipate what she might need. Between Sylvain and Claude, it seemed Byleth always had someone at her back and it was a nice feeling. She was getting used to it, to the sound of his horse coming up behind her, learning to anticipate the strike of his lance in time with her thrust of her sword and she was glad he was living up to the potential she had seen in him since day one. 

And yet... Away from the classroom or the field of battle, he was a ghost. He turned down her invitations to tea, though he did accept her meal invitations, as long as there were others present but the conversation was always superficial, and he never lingered after class anymore. 

Byleth tried to tell herself it was for the best, he was her student after all, and it was good that they both remembered that and yet she felt unsettled. That conversation had been so messy and so raw and she knew those feelings had to still be there, both about her crest (and his) and about what had happened between them.

Still, his avoidance of her was why she was surprised when he approached her one afternoon. 

He gave her a big smile, “hey, Professor. You’re looking lovely as ever.”

The compliment surprised her. It shouldn’t, because it was Sylvain and complimenting women came as naturally to him as breathing and yet... Because of how things had been, that easy charm had been less noticeable, around her at least. 

“Are you working today?” He asked after a moment, “you know, you should relax. How about you let me treat you to a meal?”

He was asking her out?

Byleth tried to read his face, nothing that it was absent of the emotion he had shown the night of his outburst or even the passion that night in his room.

“What are you after?” She asked him, knowing that there had to be some motive. Which hurt. But she wasn’t going to dwell on that, she was going to figure out why he was there. 

Sylvain looked offended. “What? I can't invite my professor to dinner without it being a scam? OK, fine. You got me. I need to ask a favor, and I wanted a way to work up the courage to ask you.”

“Is this about a girl?” The question was almost involuntary. Had Sylvain come to her about his love life? It would certainly be a sign that everything was back to normal, she supposed, but the idea stung, though she told herself it was because she was there to teach them tactics not oversee their romantic entanglements, 

Sylvain smiles ruefully. “No, it’s not about a girl. There are thieves in my family's territory. I was wondering if you'd go with me to drive 'em off. You remember the thief leader we fought at Conand Tower, yeah?”

Miklan. Of course she remembered. How could she forget? After all that was when things had changed between them and she had been confused ever since. But all she said was, “your brother?”

“Yes, Miklan. He was the oldest son of House Gautier.”

But not the heir. That fell on Sylvain, Byleth knew, because he had a crest. Once again, she was reminded of his bitterness when the subject of crests had come up and wondered how much of that had begun with Miklan.

But she didn’t ask, instead she stayed silent and waited for Sylvain to continue. 

“What's left of his band of thieves is causing trouble in Gautier territory. My father has asked me to come home and put down those murderous jerks. But he's asked for me to come alone-no knights, no backup of any sort. That's crazy, right?”

“Yes,” Byleth answered immediately, because it was, Sylvain was a talented fighter, yes, but he was still learning and even the best fighters still required back up at times. “Why would he ask that of you?”

“I think he thinks he'd lose face asking the church for help.” Sylvain told her. “I don't know. He could have asked another trusted house to send troops, but he only asked me.” He shrugged, “And the way my father is...he probably has some other motive that I'll never know. Maybe he just wants me to get some more experience in battle. Crazy way to suggest it though. Anyway, I'm not going alone, no matter what he asks. I'm going to ask some of the others in our class for help too. “

Byleth nodded, it was a good idea and Sylvain was likeable enough that he would probably have lots of willing volunteers. She assumed that both Felix and Ingrid would accompany him without question, after all they had joined him in the Golden Deer house, though she was pretty sure that Ingrid had done it out of the belief that it was her duty to keep Sylvain in line. 

“That sounds like a wise plan,” she praised, “it is always good to have back up.”

“Yeah,” Sylvain agreed, “But none of us have your experience. If you'd come with us, I'd be grateful.”

“Of course.”

She didn’t even hesitate. Things had been messy between her and Sylvain, yes, but he was her student and more than that... She cared about him, even if it confused her, and she genuinely wanted to help him. 

And maybe it would help them get back to normal, help their relationship return to what it should be. 

  * _End_




End file.
